Friday, 6 February 2015

Monthly Favourites: January 2015

It feels so weird to be typing '2015', I don't know about you, but it always takes me the better part of 3 or 4 months to get used to writing a new date. January was a very mixed month for me; I bought a few new beauty products, but because my skin was misbehaving for most of it so I decided to wear as little make-up as possible and try and rectify my problems instead. Thankfully it paid off and my skin looks and feels better than it has in a long time. Here are the things that I was loving in January:

Autograph Matte Velvet Lipstick in Blush Pink

I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I've fallen in love with another shade from the Matte Velvet lipstick range, I've raved about them before. This time my love is for Blush Pink, which is a gorgeous brown toned pink nude, it's a beautiful neutral that goes with practically any eye/cheek combo and wears really well. If I don't know what lipstick to wear, this has been the one I've been reaching for and it instantly lights up my face and pulls the whole make-up look together. I'm so impressed with the lip products from Marks and Spencer, in my opinion they're some of the best out there.

Autograph Ultimate Shine Twist Up Lip Colour in Damson

As well as my skin misbehaving in January, my lips were too. From going out in the freezing cold to spending a lot of time with central heating, as well as wearing too many matte lipsticks over the festive period, my lips have been screaming out for some moisture. The Ultimate Shine lip colours from Marks and Spencer are very hydrating, feel lovely and smooth on the lips and the shade Damson is a gorgeous berry colour. Whenever I've needed to moisturise my lips but also wanted to wear a semi-bold colour this is the one I've gone for.

Collection Waterproof Fast Stroke Eyeliner

I'm absolutely terrible at liquid eyeliner usually, especially when it comes to creating two perfectly even wings, but I find the applicator of this one from Collection to be the easiest I've used thus far. Unscrew the lid and you're presented with a pretty rigid 'quill' applicator that allows the product to move over the eyelid perfectly whilst having great control, it has just enough give to create a perfect line but not so much that it makes application messy. I've used both the waterproof and non-waterproof versions, and have to say that the only one I would buy again would be this one; it stays put all day, even through a few tears, but is still easy to remove at night. For it's incredibly low price of £2.99 I think this is a total bargain, and is something I'd recommend to any of you uncertain of liquid eyeliners.

B. Uplifted 3D Lift Eye Cream

For the majority of last year I was using the phase 2 eye cream from B. and really didn't think I could prefer another one over it, but when I eventually ran out I went to order more and it was out of stock, so I gave the phase 3 a shot and it's even better. Intended for use by more mature people, I find it's very hydrating and has helped decrease the puffiness and lines around and beneath my eyes. I don't think any product will ever make my bags disappear completely (thanks genetics), but this certainly helps them look less obvious. I use this morning and night and only need the tiniest amount so one tube will last months. Make-up applies beautifully over it and it never irritates my sensitive eyes, something that I haven't been able to say about any other eye cream I've tried. I'll be buying a back up of this while it's half price as I really don't want to be without it now.

Superdrug Deep Action Anti-Blemish Gel

For months and months I've been using Grease Lightening from Lush as my only spot treatment, but towards the end of December and into January I had some absolute monster spots that Grease Lightening just wasn't touching. I done a little research and decided to give the Superdrug Anti-Blemish Gel a try, and I'm really glad I did. I dab a small amount onto any raised or red spots at night and by morning they're a lot less angry looking and with continued use they disappear. I still love Grease Lightening and will continue to use it for spots that are only threatening to come up, but for the times when I can't catch them in time or when they look particularly nasty I'll be reaching for this gel. It does dry out my skin, so I have to be careful not to over apply it, but if used correctly it's a great little product.

Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel

This has been a favourite for over a year now, ever since I first discovered it in October 2013. The last few months though I've been using spicier scents a lot, such as Hot Toddy, but this month I've been really craving the delicious sweetness of Snow Fairy again. With the heavy scents of pear drops and candy floss, it's a gorgeous glittery pink wonder gel that makes my skin feel soft and leaves my bathroom smelling heavenly for hours after I've used it. I ran out of shaving gel a couple of weeks ago and found that it also doubles up nicely to shave my legs and arms, not something I can say about most shower gels. I've made sure I bought a few bottles of this in the Lush Boxing Day sale so I have enough to last me the year until it's released again in the autumn.

Soap & Glory Endless Glove

I talked about this hand cream in this post a couple of weeks ago, and since I posted that it's pretty much the only hand cream I've used. It works as both a hand cream and a mask for your hands and it sinks in pretty quickly. I was using this before bed as a treatment, but thanks to the harsh winter my hands have been extremely dry for the last few weeks so I'm using this in place of any other hand cream and my hands now feel lovely and soft. The only downside to it is that it leaves a slight film on the hands so isn't the best thing to use right before using a touch screen, but for the scent and the lovely soft skin I can get past that.

Superdrug Pro Vitamin Full Volume Conditioner

I'm really picky with my shampoo's and have been using the same one for well over a year now, but am usually pretty fickle about conditioners, I'll use whatever is on special offer, but I've been using this volumising one from Superdrug for a couple of months now and I really like it. I have dry, naturally curly hair and am prone to tangles and knots, and I definitely don't need any help with volumising my hair, so I really shouldn't like this as much as I do. I don't find it gives huge amounts of body, which is a good thing for me, but it helps to control the frizz whilst also giving it lift at the root. Even though it's aimed at people with fine hair I think I'll be using this for a while, it makes my hair feel really soft and the knots less troublesome.

Superdrug Extra Firm Hold Hairspray

It takes quite a bit for me to like a hairspray, for me to really love it it has to be strong enough to hold an up-do, not sticky or crunchy and able to be brushed out without leaving a horrible residue. This offering from Superdrug ticks all of those boxes, and it's really cheap too. I've been wearing my hair up a lot this past month, and I've used this every time and it hasn't failed me once, even when the wind was blowing a gale. It really is good stuff that I will most certainly be repurchasing.

If you caught my mistake on Wednesday, I'm really sorry, I never intended the post to go up like that. I'd also like to apologise for my lateness on this post, sometimes real life takes over and there are more important things to be thinking about than what your favourite lipstick is, I'm sure you all have times like that too. Anyway, I'm back now and will be posting my usual schedule from here on out.

What were you loving in January? I'd love it if you left me some recommendations in the comments.